Spawn of Demons
by Winslett30
Summary: After defeating Beatrice, he is haunted every night by a nightmare which he doesn’t understand the meaning of, and a illusion of a woman that seems to be following him everywhere... (Formerly known as Vilente Love and Obsession)
1. Prologue

Summary: This takes place six months after the ending of Wild Arms 3. It is about my favourite character, Clive (of course!). After defeating Beatrice, he is haunted every night by a nightmare which he doesn't understand the meaning of, and a illusion of a woman that seems to be following him everywhere. Who is this woman, and what could she want of Clive? After searching for a reason, he understands that freedom is once again endangered, only this time, his OWN...

Disclaimer: I do NOT own WILD ARMs 3! All I own is the game!! Warning!: Those who have not cleared the game yet but intend too do so, should not read this fanfic before that, as it may give hints about the ending!! A/N: This is my first fic, so please be gentle! I am new on making fanfics, so any suggestions of improvement is highly appreciated. My characters are my own and may not be used by anyone else but me (If you don't beg me nicely for them...). I m from Sweden and my grammar/spelling is NOT perfect.... please bear with me!

Please R&R

Spawn of Demons

Prologue

The train headed for Midland station from East Highland moved rapidly through the vast wasteland that was Filgaia. Tony walked through the cabins, making sure that everyone had tickets. He had been warned about the four figures in the last wagon by his co-workers, but he didn't take too much notice about that. Entering the last wagon, he heard the group speaking to each other.

"I still think this is a bad idea. Why don't we just sell it? It could give us a fortune"

"We have to return it, Jet. It would be dangerous if we left it in wrong hands. The Tear drop is better of where we found it" a girl voice replied.

Tony thought he recognized it. "It's still worth an eluvia lot of money, though"

"I agree with the leader. People might be trying to use it to cause Filgaia harm, like the Siegfried and the prophets. The best course of action would be to hide it where we first found it"

The voice belonged to a middle aged man, it sounded very polite. A fourth voice spoke up, belonged to another male, but could be mistaken for a child's.

"You better stop before you hurt yourself, boy. The leader's got an upper hand on us, after all."

Tony thought he heard someone muttering, probably this Jet, and everything went silent. Tony waited a few more seconds before reaching out his hand for the handle, and opened the door to their cabin.

Four faces faced his direction. A silver haired boy with lavendel eyes sat next to a green haired man with glasses on the right side. The girl sat next to a man that looked like a priest of Baskar. They looked so familiar. It was something special about this group.... Then Tony remembered. It was the Drifter group that was accused of murdering the Ark of Destiny Order's leader. He had seen them on a wanted list in the Westwood station a short while ago. It was also the same group of Drifters that protected the treasure his train transported, the Ark Scepter, six months ago. He was surprised of seeing them, but wasn't afraid of them.

"Ticket control. May I see your tickets please" he said in his professional voice.

The girl pulled up the tickets. "Of course. There you go"

He took a short look on them and returned them to the girl. "You're the group the Ark of Destiny is looking for, right?"

The group got tensed, the silver haired boy looked like he could jump on Tony any second. The green haired man with glasses held him back, with a slight move of his right hand, putting it in front of the boy's chest. He stared at the man with his lavendel eyes, and calmed down.

"Yes, we are" the man replied.

"Was it you who killed the leader?" Tony heard the words slip through his mouth before he was able to stop them. What if they actually are murderers? But they still didn't seem like it...

"No. It's hard to explain, but we didn't kill him, not directly anyway. You have to believe us." Her words comforted Tony.

He was good at judging people from the start, and he didn't think they looked like murderers. "I believe you. You can't be bad people, when you risked your lives the protect the treasure the last time. Don't worry, I won't give you away"

"I thank you" The girl gave up a relieved smile.

Tony smiled back.

"Well, everything seems to be in order. I wish you a happy journey" and Tony left the cabin, heading back to the first wagon.

Virginia tilted back her head and gave out a small sigh. The barren wasteland rushed by them outside the small window, the sun was giving up before the darkness that covered the sky more and more. She shut her eyelids, and listened to the wheels running over the trail. If only the teleport orb had worked, they would have been in Jolly Roger by now... She hoped they would make it to Jolly Roger before nightfall. She heard a snigger from her left side.

"What is it, Gallows?"

"Was that your boyfriend or somethin', leader?" He asked.

"Gallows!" Virginia jumped on her feet and stared at the Baskarian priest. "He's not my boyfriend!" She glanced on Jet for a few seconds, but quickly turned her head away, blushing. Jet pretended he didn't notice that.

"You're blushing. Is it because I'm right?" Then Gallows noticed her look on Jet and grinned.

"Oh! So, it's Jet! I was right all along! When's the wedding you two?"

Jet stared at him, warning that a sudden death might hit him any second. Virginia's face got red like a tomato, but returned to her normal face colour.

"Only on the day that you actually manage to get a girl go on a date with you!"

"A strike under the belt, that hurts!" Gallows said, blushing and scratching his head.

Clive smiled and Jet shocked his head.

A noise was heard, the sudden deceleration made Virginia fly forward to her seat with her face first. Gallows, Jet and Clive stood up and looked around them. Virginia pulled herself up on her legs, with Clive holding her firmly in her arm and let go once she had found her balance.

"What is going on here?" She asked.

"Nothing good, that's for sure! Our luck hasn't improved!" Jet said sarcastic, pulling out his Airget lamh.

"We are currently decelerating from our current speed. All passengers are asked to remain on their seats."

"Just like the last time" Virginia sighed.

"Yeah, I'm almost expecting to see the Janus Cascade groupie next" Gallows said.

They heard noises from the roof in front of them.

"Whoever caused the deceleration seems to be on the roof on the next wagon, heading our way" Clive said, adjusting his glasses.

"The we climb up from the other side of our wagon and confront them. Let's go everyone!" Virginia commanded and everyone rushed out, heading for the back exit.

So what do you think? Like/hate it? Please R&R!!


	2. Fight for Freedom

Thank you all who has been so kind and written rewievs! I am truly grateful and I will do my best to continue with this story! And I apologize for not updating for a while but my &*#¤ computer refused to put out the story *growl*!! Anyway, here is chapter 1!  
  
Please R&R  
  
****  
  
Chapter One: Fight for Freedom  
  
The train had stopped moving when Virginia and her party ascended on the roof. A party of three waited for them, with a vicious smile on their faces. Their clothing, resembled those from Little Twister. They were all slim, and one of them wore a big hat.  
  
"Hey you, girl. Are you Virginia Maxwell?" The man standing in front of the group called out. He had the same colour on his hair as Lamium, the leader of the Ark of Destiny. His big hat hung on the side, covering one of his blue eyes. His yellow coat flapped in the small breeze. He wore a brown, sleeveless vest under the coat and black pants. He had the type of same ARM as Janus once had, a Bayonet.  
  
"Yes, I am" Virginia answered, taking the man for being the leader of the the team. She felt her hands moving slowly for her dual guns automaticly, but she stopped them. She didn't yet know where she had the man, and tried to avoid a fight if she could.  
  
"Perfect. I was afraid we were going to have to search every wagon after you.. You made our quest much easier. I appreciate that" The leader replied, taking his hat of, putting it over his chest, bowed politely as a gentleman, and put the hat back at his head again. Jet rolled his eyes. It itched in is fingers after a fight, and his mind yelled at him to draw the Airget Lamh. But he resisted it, and let his ARM remain pointed downwards in his hand.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want from us?" Virginia asked, although she had suspicions of what they wanted.  
  
"Sorry. I forgot that we're not known well yet. I'm Racen Longwell, leader of this team. These two here are my brothers, Lan," he pointed to the man by his side.  
  
He was a brown haired man with green eyes. He nodded with a grin. He wore a yellow jacket and blue pants, almost similar to Jet's clothing. He also wore as red sacrf around his neck.  
  
"and Robert."  
  
A blue haired man grumped at the mention of his name. His long hair was tied into a ponytail, which hung over his shoulder. A white shirt covered his upper torso, along with his red jacket, and wore blue pants. Virginia almost misstook him for Janus, but he looked much more sinister in the face, and he had brown eyes.  
  
"Usually we're four, but our friend, Barto, is looking after the engine- drivers. Together we are the infamous Longwell team. As for why we're here, we're to cash in that reward for you. So, no tricks from your side, okay?"  
  
He whirled the Bayonett in his hand pointed it at Virginia. His friends drew their ARMs as well.  
  
Jet swinged his Airget Lamh upwards and pointed it on Racen. Virginia's hands was now above her dual guns, but didn't pull them just yet. Clive and Gallows stepped up closer behind her, ready to pull out their ARMs.  
  
"We've never heard of you before. But if you're looking for a fight, you have it right here" Jet implied. He moved closer to Virginia.  
  
"We didn't kill the leader. We will not go to prison for a crime we didn't commit!" Virginia said and pulled up her dual guns. She cocked them just like her father taught her ten years ago.  
  
"Be careful Virginia. They do not appear to be strong, but it would be a mistake to underestimate them. We do not yet know what they are capable of" Clive said lowly behind her.  
  
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind" She replied, with her her eyes still fixed on the Longwell leader.  
  
"Who cares who did it or not. The reward is above your heads, that's all I want to know!"  
  
"Maybe we should be careful, Racen. Janus put up against them and look what happened to him! Plus, we're only three, they're four!" Lan whispered into his brother leader's ear.  
  
"Shut up. I won't be as silly as to get mysef killed like my late friend Janus Cascade. Besides, once they got a taste of our abilities, they'll beg us to catch them. Get them!" Followed closely by his brothers, Racen jumped over the gap between the two wagons and attaked Virginia. He thrusted with the sharp blade of the Bayonet at her, trying to stab her. Jet reacted fastest of the four, and opened fire, giving Virginia time to jump away.  
  
Clive rushed to help his leader, but Robert jumped in his way and swinged a huge sword at him, forcing the Drifter to jump back. Clive held his huge ARM before him for protection.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, Drifter?" Robert asked, and pointed the sharp edge at him. Clive moved his foot slightly to the left side, so that Robert didn't see him do it, giving him a bigger opportunity to surprise Robert if he decided to attack.  
  
"Usually, I try to avoid uneccesary bloodshed if ever possible. But right now, my biggest priority is the safety of my comrades. I kindly ask of you to stand down, or else I see no other choice than to take you out."  
  
Robert grinned at him and attacked Clive, with the blade pointed upwards. Clive fulfilled his movement, and when a surprised Robert came up beside him, stepped to the side and knocked the blade out of his hands with the pipe of the ARM, when it came swingin down. He used Robert's confusion and clubed him on the back with his Gungnir, forcing him down on his stomach on the roof. Robert moaned of the pain that rushed down his spine, and almost paralyzed him. He got up on his knees, lifting his hand for the shimmering blade that laid next to him. Clive tried to kick it from him, but he was a lightning second to late. With nenewed strength, Robert got up and attacked again. But Clive was ready and performed a five punch Gatling at him, knocking him down once more.  
  
Gallows was in a hot fight with Lan. He pointed his Modified Coyote M17F and fired a shower of bullets. Lan cast Shield to protect himself and counterattacked with his ARM, an Coyote M19. Gallows was hit in his shoulder, blood came dripping down from the shotwound. Lan sniggeredm as he thought he had won over the big Baskar. "Heal!" Gallows hissed out in pain, and he was revitalized as a blue light surrounded his body, and healed him. The shothole disappeared and the blood seemed to float back beneath his skin, leaving no trace. Lan growled in anger and fired one more time. Gallows ducked and used an ice arcana on his opponent. Ice covered Lan and shattered, and Lan felt the wounds on his body it left behind, though the body was still stiff from the cold. Shivereing, he fired again, but Gallows easily avoided the shot.  
  
Racen knew he had missjudged the situation from the moment he had attacked Virginia. He thought that taking down the leader would make them indecisive, and easier to catch He had never expected the silverhaired boy to come to her rescue, he didn't look like the heroic type. Yet he had fired at him to protect her, giving her time to get away from Racen. Now he had two against him. He glanced over the battle area, seeing that the green haired sniper had forced Robert down, and Lan looked he barely made it against the Baskar priest. He turned back to Jet, and rushed at him. The boy looked surprised as he performed Heretic stab, but he managed to slip away before Racen reached him. He stopped next to Virginia.  
  
"What the hell!? That was Janus' attack!" Jet exclaimed.  
  
"Did I forget to tell you? Janus was a good friend of mine. We both lived together in Little Twister, and he taught me how to handle a Bayonet, and a few of his tricks too. But that's all in history now. I now only live for the moment!" Racen replied. Virginia used Spectre on him, several rays of light flew down at him to strike him down. Virginia gasped in surprise as the spell was reflected back at her. She didn't recieve any damage though, as she was protected by the golden medium Flash Hit. Racen pulled out a small, bloodred medallion that hung around his neck beneath his brownvest. It sparkled in the fading sun, making Racen's face look like it was stained with blood. He smirked.  
  
"Good thing I bought it from the black market before we left. I knew it was handy, in some way. Lan, Robert, assemble!" Lan ran up to him, while Robert limped, due to his injuries. Clive and Gallows did not attack them, as they refused to attack somebody from behind.  
  
The Maxwell gang held their positions, ready to defend themselves.  
  
"Prepare for the Blind attack! Do not hold back!" Racen exclaimed.  
  
The Maxwell gang got confused "The Blind attack?" Virginia asked.  
  
****  
  
Thought it was Janus, huh? Sorry, no revival of the dead Drifter here. So sorry every Janus lover, he is and remains dead. It may have been a lousy chapter, but I am lousy at writing about fights. Be gentle, no burning sticks this way, please! Anyways, chapter 2 is coming up! 


	3. End of One Battle, Beginning of Another

I decided to make this chapter a bit longer, just for the fun. Hope you don't fall asleep or something like that. Anyway, in this chapter you will find out what I'm talking about in the intro. Clive's nightmare is about to begin...  
  
Chapter 2: End of One Battle, Beginning of Another  
  
"Blind attack? What the hell are they up to now?" Jet asked, squeezing the Airget Lamh harder in his hand. Clive adjusted his glasses, inspecting the smirking group of Drifters ahead of him. He tried to see what was coming next, calculate their next move, so he then could decide the best course of action.  
  
"I do not know. But be careful" he warned. Virgninia cocked her ARMs and pointed them on Racen. He smirked even bigger. They were getting nervous, exactly how he wanted them.  
  
"Get ready!" He shouted at the Maxwell Gang. Robert quickly pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at them. Clive noticed it was a small silverball, before it hit the ground before them, and exploded. Smoke came running out and the next thing they knew, they were engulfed by it, and entered a world of white nothingness. Virginia coughed as it poured down in her lungs like a river, giving her a suffocating feeling. She thought she heard someone cough next to her. Gallows, who had gotten farthest away from his comrades, fumbled around in the white world around him to locate them. Jet looked around him for enemies, with a hand over his mouth to protect himself from the cloud that threatened to suffocate him too and the other swinged his ARM wildly around to prevent an attempt of ambush from the Longwell team . Clive held out a golden medium in his hand. It bore the mark of Fengalon, the guardian beast of Wind. The wind from the beast could split the cloud around them, but he could hit one of his comrades by mistake and he didn't want to risk it.He tried to locate them, but the white world semmed endless, and only the coughing sound from his friends was heard, but he didn't know exactly where they were.  
  
"Pretty clever, spreading out cloud to blind an opponent and make it impossible for them to attack. But it's not a very admirable thing to do." Clive thought.  
  
"Cough Is everyone alright?" Virginia shouted and pulled away her ARMs, she didn't want to shoot her friends by mistake. She stumbled forward, reaching her hands forwards. Her fingertips touched soft, warm skin and she grabbed tight to the object, before it would disappear into the cloud. She knew it could be anyone, even one from Racen's team. But she only hoped that it was someone she knew.  
  
"Hey! Let go of my arm!" It was Jet. She heard something snap in distance. Jet also heard it, his arm muscles became tense and his eyes flew wildly around, trying to find the source of the noise. Several bullets pierced her body and she did her best to protect herself , putting her hands over her head and bend down on her knees. She heard Gallows cry out in pain, letting her know that the same thing happened to her comrades as well. Something began to crawl down her skin, and she laid two fingers over it. It was wet and warm, and greasy. She held up her fingers before her eyes, shocked by the sight. It was blood. She had been shot. Jet hissed next to her. If it was by anger or pain, she didn't know. She heard another hissing sound, like from a lit bomb...  
  
"Take cover! It's a bomb!" She yelled, dragging Jet down with her as she threw herself down on the roof. She felt a intense heat next to her and Jet, and before they knew it, they were being lifted into the air and thrown forward. She landed with a hard bump that made her loose her breath and the world seemed to spin around her. She slowly came up on her knees and breathed heavily. The smoke was being separated by the small breeze of wind, and gave her air to breathe in. When it vanished she looked up around her. Jet was a few feet from her, breathing hard, and held his hand over his chest, while blood forced its way between his fingers. It appeared that he had a serious shotwound that he tried to cover. Clive was crawling up on his knees with the help of his Gungnir, shaking his head, and holding the golden medium hard in his hand. Gallows still sat down, too tired to make an attempt to stand up. Their bodies was covered by fleeing blood, but they were still alive. The Longwell team came up to them.  
  
"Not a bad attack is it? Gets our preys down on their knees every single time. Give up now, and we won't hurt you further. Do we understand each other?" Racen asked, holding out a hand to her to help her up.  
  
"Don't you have any respect for human life!? There are other people except us on this train! You could have killed them with that bomb! And us too!" Virginia hissed, refusing the help from Racen.  
  
"Oh please, spare me the lecture. I'm too good for that. I have made these bombs myself, they're designed to only hurt our preys a little bit" Lan said, throwing a bomb up and down his hand.  
  
"Did you blew up your parents in the process or what, because nobody seems to have taught you any mannners" Gallows implied, pointing a finger on the enraged Lan.  
  
"What did you say!?" He growled.  
  
"That's enough. Well, how's it going to be?" Racen asked again, pulling back his hand. Virginia looked back on her comrades. Jet and Clive were up on their legs, Gallows was on his way up. She stood up slowly, then turned to the Longwell leader.  
  
"Six months ago, I learned that there were no such thing as good or bad Drifters. What I did know, is when people's actions are right or wrong. That you hurt or kill people just to get famous and rich, is the wrong thing to do. I do not want to have any part of your schemes, and I will not let you cut off our wings, when we have fought so hard against people and demons to keep them!" She exclaimed and with her last ounch of strength, she performed a Seven gatling without bullets on the surprised Racen, and kicked him off the roof, before she fell down on her knees and hands, exhausted and weakened from the blood loss. Lan and Robert had been surprised and shocked by the Maxwell leader's sudden attack, but snapped out of it and rushed at them, with Robert's sword pointed up and Lan's Vanton40 ARM pointed forward. Virginia saw them coming but was too tired to get out of their way. Jet looked up and saw Virginia's predicament, and swore in his head at her to get out of the way. She didn't make a move. Regarding the injury on his chest, Jet ran to Virginia and pulled her away from them, Robert saw Clive stretch up his hand to the sky, and in a flash, the Maxwell team was gone. They heard a growl above them and looked up. A large animal came running down at them. The wind was getting stronger around them. It slashed with its paw and landed next to them before he jumped up and it vanished again. It left a tornado behind it that lifted the two Drifters from the roof and threw them off as well, leaving the train and its passengers intact.  
  
"Clive, you rock!" Gallows applaud and healed his comrades with the Arcana spell Heal. Their wounds vanished in a instant moment, leaving no traces of the battle on them. Virginia stood up and walked over to the side where the Drifter team had vanished. She saw them laying on the ground, moaning. A sting of guilt was felt in her heart, but she tried her best to ignore it. They weren't dead, and they had attacked her and her comrades. They had to defend themselves. The two brothers helped their leader brother up on his legs. Racen stared up at Virginia. He held up a hand and waved once, which was his way to recognize her as a winner.  
  
"Well done, Maxwell. We'll retreat for now. But don't think you have seen the last of us. We'll get stronger somehow, and claim that reward for you. You're best off to remember that" Racen said, turned around and whistled. Horses came running from the front of the train and stopped next to them. Clive, Gallows and Jet came up to Virginia and watched them mount their horses and set off in the direction of Jolly Roger. A fourth figure rode after them, but he was too far off for Virginia to see him clearly, but belived that was Barto, the friend Racen had talked about. Gallows put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Another victory for the Maxwell team! This calls for a celebration!" He said cheerfully. Virginia didn't answer.  
  
"Is something the matter?" Clive asked politely.  
  
"I can't help it, but I'm feeling a little bit guilty" She replied, her head hung low.  
  
"Are you telling us that we shoud have surrendered? Gimme a break..." Jet sighed and put a hand to his head.  
  
"No, but..."  
  
"I understand how you feel, Virginia. Fighting people is not the same thing as fighting monsters and demons. But as you said, they endangered the passengers in their attempts to catch us. They had to be stopped, or somebody else could have been hurt, or even killed" Clive implied. Virginia nodded, and she did feel a little bit better.  
  
"Thank you, Clive" Virginia said. Clive smiled and scratched his head.  
  
"With that said, I suggest that we jump off here and continue to the Ruins of Memory by horse as long as we can before dark, and continue tomorrow morning. It will take longer, but makes it more difficult for more possible pursuers to track us"  
  
"You're right. But, wait, our belongings is left in the cabin!" She remembered.  
  
"I get them. I'm faster than you three chatterboxes together anyway" Jet teased and ran to the ladder, while the rest jumped down on the ground. The train started to move when Jet threw out their belongings through the window, and after throwing out his own blanket, he jumped out from the before it picked to much speed. The team watched as the train vanished from their sight. Virginia pulled out a call whistle from her pouch and blew it. They didn't hear anything, but their horses did hear it. Four horses approached them from the south, dust covered their hooves as they galloped over the ground. The white horse neighed as it saw Virginia and picked up speed. It stopped next to her and neighed lowly. The black stallion came up to the Baskar, while a light brown stallion stopped next to Jet. Lastly, a dark brown stallion approached Clive slowly. It put its mule in his hand and Clive felt a small puff of warm air coming from the horse through the glove. He smiled and patted the horse on his head. They were already saddled, and the group mounted their horses. Clive was about to do the same thing when he stopped dead in his tracks, staring out into the barren wasteland.  
  
A young woman was watching him. She stood a few meters away from him, with a smile covering her face, and her green eyes fixed on the green haired sniper. She had the same type of clothing as the prophets once had, and her ravenblack, long hair moved smoothly along the wind, like the wind was playing with it. She wore a white ribbon behind her head and she had purple hair covering the sides of her face. She was not an unfamiliar sight for him, because he had been seeing her more and more often during the last six months. But, this was the first time he had been able too see her clearly, and that she had been this close to him. Though she was smiling, her presence sent cold shivers down Clive's spine, and he slightly shivered. He had only seen her for six months and he didn't know who she was, yet he felt that he had known her longer than that. And the feeling that he got from her felt familiar too, the feeling that told him that something was not right with her, and warned him of danger...  
  
"Clive, do you see something?" Virginia asked from the back of her horse. Clive turned his head to her and then back. The woman was gone.  
  
"I believe I just saw a woman." He glanced over the area. She was nowhere in sight. "She is gone now, however. It could have been just a hallucination. Let us press on, the dark will be upon us soon" Clive climbed up on his horse. Virginia gave him a concerned look, but then turned her horse around and went into gallop. Her comrades followed her close behind, but Clive remained a little bit before he went after them too, in deep thoughts. He felt guilty that he didn't tell his comrades that he had seen her more times than just now, but he wanted to be sure what she was before he told them. They maybe would say that he had gone senile. Well, Gallows or Jet would say it, Virginia would proably think he had gotten ill. He had once tried to make them take notice of her, but they didn't see her, and she stood right in front of them! Why was Clive the only one who saw her, and what did she want? All these questions spinned around in his head and he couldn't make any sense out of the situation. Hasufel neighed as they were getting too far behind the rest, and Clive came out of his thoughts and picked up the speed.  
  
They rode about half an hour when the sun gave up on them. The group was getting tired and weary. Virginia looked around for a good spot to camp at for the night. She saw a formation of rocks.  
  
"That seems to be a good place to camp at. Let's stop there" she jumped of her horse and led it over there. The rest did the same thing. They unpacked their horses and put out their blankets at the ground. Gallows pulled out wood from his sack and piled it together. Jet used a fire spell to lit it up, and a fire started to burn brightly. They all sat down next to the fire and let it heat up their cold bodies. Virginia rationed the food she had in her sack with the others, and looked down in the bag. It was almost empty. She looked over to the horses, but they had found grass near the trunk of the tree and were eating on that.  
  
"We need to restock our supplies. We're almost out of food" Virginia pointed out and showed the group her almost empty sack  
  
"And for that we need money, which we don't have. Unless..." Jet tried again.  
  
"Jet, for the last time, we ain't selling the Tear Drop!" Virginia scolded. Jet looked away, took another bite from his portion of meat, and pretended he didn't hear that. Virginia glared at him, and looked like she could hit Jet with her sack, her grip on it became tighter and it slowly left the ground against Jet's direction. Clive decided to that he needed to change the subject, before someone got hurt.  
  
"Finding a mission to take on is not going to be easy, with the Order after us, and with that reward above our heads" Clive implied while he adjusted his glasses.  
  
"And Jolly Roger is out of the question. That Longwell team went there, right? They would jump on us the second we walked into town, and other Drifters for that matter" Jet grumped, put away his food and laid down on his red blanket, with is hands behind his neck and stared up at the star sprinkled sky.  
  
"Then why don't we head to Baskar Colony? I'm pretty sure Granny has a mission for us to take on. If not, then we have at least shelter for two days or more, while we search for leads. What do you say, leader?" Gallows implied.  
  
"Sounds good to me! Let's head there after we have retuned the Tear Drop!" Virginia clapped her hands together in excitement. Clive came to think about wife and daughter, who was waiting for him back in Humphrey's Peak. He hadn't seen them in six months and it had been a while since he had written to them. If Roykman was there, Clive could send a letter with him to his family.  
  
"Well, let's get to sleep, so we can get away early tomorrow. Who will take the watch?" Virginia asked.  
  
"I can do that. I won't be able to go to sleep tonight anyway" Gallows offered.  
  
"Okay, then it is decided. Good night everyone" Virginia said, yawned and laid down on her green blanket. She stared into the fire for a few seconds, before she closed her eyes and sighed loudly, and fell asleep seconds after that. Jet turned to his side, and faced the sleeping leader. He felt a warm feeling inside his heart. He closed his eyelids to get rid of the image that caused the feeling inside him.  
  
"What would humans call this feeling? Love? Ridiculous. I'm an android, I can't fall in love. And with her? She's a tomboy, and a chatterbox. Although she is kinda cute when she gets mad... What am I thinking!? I must be going crazy or something!" Jet thought. He opened his eyeslids one more time. Virginia's face still faced his, and that warm feeling came up again. He felt a small smile creep upon his face, and for the first time in his life, he let it stay there. It felt good for him somehow.  
  
"I AM going crazy" He thought and closed his eyes for the last time, keeping the image of the sleeping Virginia inside his head, before his subconscious drifted away in darkness. He fell asleep, still with the smile on his face.  
  
Clive hesitated. He hadn't been able to get a good night sleep for six months, all because of this dream that keeps haunting him. He hadn't told the others about it, he didn't want them to worry. It was just a dream, nothing that could kill him. Yet he felt terrified just by going to sleep. And the pressure inside his head that increased every single time did not make it better. But the tiredness that crept away inside his body won the battle over the fear. Hoping that he would not see it again, he closed his eyes, and thought of Kaitlyn and Catherine, before he fell asleep too.  
  
He almost wanted to cry out as he saw where he was. He was back in a village that looked like Humphrey's Peak, but the houses were twisted, all trees naked and lifeless, and the ground around him was grey, dead, and the sky had the mixture of orange and black. He looked up, even though he knew what he was going to see. He saw people bend over in pain, their screams reached his ears and etched into his mind. Their skins looked like they were bubbling, their internal organs moved around like snakes beneath the bubbles and skin, and many had gotten all sorts of different body part of demons. One developed horns, another had a hairy arm with sharp claws for fingers, and one had a face that resmebled a male pig, with two huge teeth sticking out from his lower jaw on both sides, and small red eyes that had replaced the human eyes. It roared in pain, as the rest of his body was transforming into a demon. Clive was crippled by the sight, he couldn't move, and a scream got stuck in his throat. Completely transformed demons approached him, stretching their arms after him. He wanted to get out of their way, but his body was paralyzed.  
  
"Are you happy now, Clive Winslett? We are transforming into demons, all because of you" a demon dog hissed. Clive knew that voice. It was Datson, his friend from Humphrey's Peak.  
  
"... Datson? Is that you?" The demon dog nodded and showed his teeth. They were bigger than on ordinary dogs, it was barely that they stayed inside the creature's mouth.They were bloody, he must have bitten somebody, Clive couldn't see any wounds on his body that indicated that he had bitten himself.  
  
"What happened to you?"  
  
"YOU are what happened, remember!? You are the cause that we are becoming demons. Have you come back here to finish what you started?" The demon threatened. Clive shook his head to the sides. His fault?  
  
"I do not understand what you are talking about. I would never do this to you, I do not have the knowledge. Please believe me, Datson." Clive finally managed to get the words over his lips. The familiar pressure inside his head came back, worse than ever. He tightened his eyes from the pain.  
  
"Don't lie to us. You are the one to blame. You and that woman. You even went after your own family, we saw you, and look at them now. It is indeed your fault!" The dog hissed again, and pointed a hairy finger on two demons a bit away from them. Clive looked into that direction. Two demons stared at them with red, glowing eyes. They looked like female demon birds, one smaller than the other, and they were holding each other hardly. The small one had blue ribbons on its head. Clive's heart beat faster, and his body became cold of fear and despair.  
  
"No. Catherine... Kaitlyn... Not you too..." The two demons drew themselves away from him as they heard his voice, like it was poison to their shivering ears, and whimpered of fear for the sniper. The rest of the demons came closer to the sniper, and surrounded him. He couldn't see his family anymore. He fell on his knees, holding one hand on the ground for support, and the other on his aching head. It felt like it was going to explode. He tried to supress it, fight it back.  
  
"Give in, Clive Winslett" A woman voice echoed. The same voice that he had always heard in this dream. It sounded like it was two voices in one, two that he was familiar with and yet not...  
  
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Clive managed to whisper. The voice giggled. It sounded like it belonged to both a child and a grownup at the same time.  
  
"I've been waiting for six months... waiting for a opportunity to get revenge on everyone for what they did to me, my friends... to create my own world...and you are going to help me. Let go..."  
  
Clive's shadow seemed to move by itself, forming itself into a huge, black ring around Clive. That had never happened before... His hand became icecold and he pulled it from the ground and stood up. It was covered in a black fluid, shimmering as he held it up in the mysterious sunlight. He tried to shake it off, but to no avail. The pressure insid his head intensed, his vision was blurry from the pain. He looked down, seeing the black fluid crawl up his legs like snakes, and covered every spot of untouched clothing. The fluid on his hand also started to move forward, climbing down his arm. He lost the feeling in his arm and legs. The demons stood around him, offering no help to the green-haired sniper. Clive blinked several times, hoping that once he looked up again, he would be back in the camp, next to the fire and his comrades.The sight around him remained the same. He was stuck in the dream world.  
  
"No... please do not do this..." He pleaded, trying to get out from the circle, but his legs were frozen, and the demons pushed him back in the circle. He swinged out his arm to get the fluid of him.  
  
"Your mind belongs to me. I will have my revenge, with your help. Willingly or not. There is not point to fight me anymore, you'll only hurt yourself ..." The voice echoed again. The fluid moved up along his lower body part. He heard a pulsing sound inside his head, like from a pulsing heart. The fluid moved along with the sound. Clive realized that it was not a fluid, but a living body, a shadow that had found its way inside his head. Somebody was trying to separate his spirit from his body, melted its mind together with his. He was getting desperate, made one more attempt to wake up, but to no avail. The shadow pinned him down.  
  
"No! Leave me alone!"  
  
"Try to make me..." The voice whispered back.  
  
Anyone have a clue on who it is? Please R&R! 


	4. The Power Resting Within Him

I thank all again who have written reviews, it really keeps me going, and I'm sorry for not updating in a while. I was dry out of ideás. Forgiveme! I promise to do better (Falls on my knees and clapping my hands together above my head) Anyway, enjoy chapter 3!  
  
Chapter Three: The Power Resting Within Him  
  
Gallows in another log into the fire when it showed signs of exhaustion. The moon had taken its place high on the vault of heaven and its light lit the ground several kilometers away from the Maxwell group, giving Gallows a good chance to spot enemies or monsters in time. He glanced over to his sleeping comrades. He saw the fragile smile on Jet's face and then turned to the sleeping leader. She was turned against the silverhaired boy, and Gallows made an accurate guess of the origin of the smile.  
  
He sudeenly heard mumbles to the side of him. He turned to Clive. He shivered and moved his hand slightly in a sweeping move over the ground, like he was trying to hold something away from him. Curious of what the sniper was saying, Gallows came closer to him and bend down his head next to his fellow.  
  
"No. Catherine... Kaitlyn... Not you too..." Clive mumbled and twisted his body a little bit. Gallows threw up his head before Clive's elbow could hit him beneath his chin and give him a bruise. Clive became still again, breathing slowly.  
  
"It sounds like he's having a nightmare. He can handle it. I'll just let him sleep"  
  
Gallows went back to his spot next to the fire, and stared into it. It danced before his face, and the heat smacked his face over and over. The cold got more intense around them and he pulled his blanket harder around his body, without any effect. He threw another log into the fire to make it bigger, but that also proved unfruitful. The air that he breathed out was still the same, it didn't turn into fog like it would in this cold. It got him confused. The others started to shiver too from the cold, but the one who was shivering the worst was Clive. He turned back and forth on his blanket, the mumbles got more intensed and louder. He had forgotten to take his glasses off before he fell asleep, and Gallows got worried that he would crush them.  
  
"No! Leave me alone!" Clive mumbled. His arm flew wildly over the ground, and dust came up around it.  
  
"Looks like I need to wake him up, before he hit himself or something"  
  
Gallows approached Clive with his blanket still tight around his body. But the air was getting colder and colder around him, as he approached the sniper, and the blanket wasn't helpful. He stopped next to his friend.  
  
"Wake up, buddy. You're having a nightmare..." But when Gallows laid a hand on Clive's shoulder, the same feeling that the guardians once used to warn their bearers overwhelmed him, his hand became icecold from the touch, and he pulled back his hand. He quickly pulled out his golden medium Aqua Wisp from the pocket of his vest. It shone brightly in his hand, and warmed up his hand to body temperature, his fingers tingled from the sudden rush of blood running through them.  
  
"What's going on here!? He is icecold and the guardians reacted at the same time I... The guardians are afraid of Clive!?"  
  
Disregarding what happened just a few seconds ago, he put back his medium in his pocket, and laid a hand on Clive's shoulder again. He lost the feeling in his hand, and the guardians reacted again, but this time he didn't pull back his hand. He shook Clive hardly, while he tried to keep Clive still and prevent him from hitting Gallows by mistake.  
  
"Come on, wake up! Something's up here! Wake up!" The sniper moaned but didn't wake up. Gallows shook him even harder, so hard that even an extreme heavy sleeper would wake up from the brutal force, and called out Clive's name once again. No response came from the green-haired sniper. Gallows put two fingers on Clive's throat. He didn't feel any pulse, his fingers were too frozen too feel it. He turned Clive to his back and put his ear close to Clive's mouth. His breath was strained. Gallows pulled his head back up.  
  
"Leader, Jet, wake up!" Gallows exclaimed out to the persons behind him. Virginia yawned and blinked a few times to get the dizzy vision that covered her eyes more clear. Jet groaned and looked for something to pull down over his ears with, his hand swept the ground three times over. His rucksack was just out of reach and Jet forced himself to open his eyes and stare on the Baskar priest.  
  
"What is it Gallows? Is it a monster?" Virginia asked with a sleepy tone. She looked around them. The sun was not visible at the horizone. It was harder to fight monsters at the night than in the light from the sun, that she knew from six months experience of battles in the wasteland. Jet sat up, yawned and rubbed his head, pulling his fingers through his silverhair.Virginia watched him, but turned away when he looked up at her.  
  
"Or perhaps he's afraid of the dark" Jet grunted.  
  
"Something's terribly wrong with Clive! He's freezing cold and he's not breathing normally!" Gallows replied and turned his gaze at Clive. Virginia got awake in a instant, jumped off her blanket and joined Gallows by Clive's side, her heart beating fast as she expected the worst. Jet came up behind them. Because he was a android, he wasn't bothered by chilly nights as much as his comrades in normal cases. But the cold surrounding them now was unnatural, and even made the hair on his skin stand straight up.The familiar feeling of fright overwhelmed him, the feeling similar to the fear of the guardians. But he didn't need the guardians to tell him that something was very wrong at the scene. Very wrong.  
  
The fluid was slowly crawling over Clive's waist, his arm and shoulder was copmpletely covered, and the pulsing sound was getting louder in his ears. He made one more attempt to get out from the ring that threatened to swallow him, but the demons only laughed and pushed him back in, before they returned to watch the scene before them. Steadily losing strength, and the feeling in his body, he fell on his knees. He felt like the air in his lungs was being pressed out of him and he breathed hard to compensate the loss. The pain inside in his head made it difficult for Clive to think straight, and he barely saw the black ground under him, his vision was too blurry. The voice giggled.  
  
"She's trying to separate my spirit from my body. I must take action now, or else I'm done for. I need to synchronize my spirit into a single, powerful spell, and hope it have some effect" Clive thought.  
  
He took a deep breath and forced himself back up on his legs. He shivered of exhaustion, but held himself up, refusing to give in to the shadow that wanted to swallow him whole. He was covered up to his throat. He focused his mind, feeling the light of the Ark specter swirling around inside of him, climbing down his left arm in a wild stream and assembled in his palm. He moved it to his right side, feeling the energy in his hand intensify, and moved it across his chest until it stood straight out on his left.  
  
"Vortex!" He exclaimed and threw his hand up in the air, releasing the massive energy stored in it. The demons around him jumped back away from him and looked around, to see which one he had attacked. A tornado shoot up around Clive and engulfed him. He didn't feel anything because of his wind medium Gale Claw's protection but the fluid shivered and the voice cried out in pain, like Clive had hoped. The fluid let go of its grip on Clive and moved away from him. He was cold and rubbed his hands over his arms to gain some body heat, but he got back his vision back and the pain in his head was bearable, and his strength slowly recovered. The demons made room for the fluid as it stopped between them, forming itself into a puddle and a shadow rose up from it. It took on the shape of a woman and it fixed its green eyes on Clive. It started to shimmer, different colours floated over its body. After a few seconds, it stopped, revealing the woman he had been seeing for six months. Her clothes moved slowly around by themselves, althought there was no wind blowing through them.  
  
"Good strategy using magic, Clive Winslett. I guess strategic thinking runs in the family" She said as camly as she could. The voice in the air had combined itself with the woman before him She bore no marks of the attack he had newly comitted, but her voice still had the tone of surprisement, and her eyes was tightened in a silent rage. She also held a hand over hr mouth, as not to show him how upset she was.  
  
"Strategic thinking is something you gain through experience in battles, and what others share with you. Mind control however, is another story. As I can recall it, it is an ability that only dream demons posses. I take it that you are one?" Clive replied, while he adjusted his glasses.The woman let down her hand, and gave up a evil smile, confirming Clive's suspicions.  
  
The demons approached him, their arms stretched out after him. He held them off with smooth motions of his right hand and backed away from them.  
  
"You like your creations?" She asked lowly. She had a childish tone in her voice. She was taunting him. Clive decided not to answer her question and give her a poossible advantage over him. He needed to know what was going on, why he was experiencing this, and the only one who could provide him with answers was her.  
  
"I've been trying to comprehend this entire situation ever since it started six months ago, but I have been unsuccesful so far. I assume that you are the one who keeps sending me back here, am I correct? And this woman these demons have been speaking off is you?"  
  
"Yes, that is true. I'm their leader" She answered. When she didn't say anything further, Clive decided to continue.  
  
"I fail too see the point in sending me to this place, forcing me to watch this scene over and over, and claiming that it's all my doing? I do not have the power or the knowledge to transform humans into demons" She slowly shook her head, . Clive watched her with confusion in his face, and she enjoyed it deep in her heart. For her, that was a victory over the all- knowing Clive Winslett.  
  
"You wonder why I keep sending you to this place? That's obvious, isn't it? To make you loosen your mind, and make it easier for me to control you. Even if it took me six months to reach this point. And just to let you know, the woman you have been seeing in wake state was only a illusion I created of myself, to test your mental defence. The more you saw it, the more weakened was your mind. But that's not the important question here. You should rather ask why a six months old nightmare still scares you that much. That's because you DO have the power to create demons, and that's what scares you, not the nightmare itself. That too runs in the family"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"That mark on the back of your left hand" She replied, holding up her left hand. Automaticly, he held his gloved left hand before him. His instincts yelled at him not to pull it off, that he shouldn't trust what the woman was telling him, but for the first time in his life, he decided not to take notice of it. Slowly, he pulled off his glove, revealing his bare hand. On the back of his left hand, a mark was now visible to his eyes. A mark he slightly remembered to have seen somewhere before. It was a black orb, with a purple water drop in the centre. He rubbed his right hand over the mark several times. It was still there, etched to his skin.  
  
"The curse of the Omni orb" The woman said lowly, pulling down her hand. The demons were now close to Clive, and he had nowhere to escape.  
  
Virginia searched franticly in her pouch for anything that would be helpful for Clive. Her eyes were wet and she had to rub them before she could see clearly, and continue her search. She was hiding her anxiety the best she could, thinking over and over that Clive wasn't dead, that he had just slipped into a coma or something. Gallows held up Clive's head slightly with one hand to make it easier for him to breathe. He had also placed his orange blanket over Clive's body to keep him warm. Jet listened to his breathing, his body was shaking from the cold, but he was not the only one. Gallows and Virginia were shaking too.  
  
"Found something yet, leader?" Gallows asked Virginia without taking his eyes off Clive, fearing that the moment he did, Clive would stop breathing and die. But Clive's chest continued to go up and down, even though only slightly.  
  
"Here!" She suddenly exclaimed and pulled out a Holy Root.  
  
"That's the last one he have left. We might need it later" Jet warned.  
  
"I know, but if it can help Clive, then I think we should use it. Beisdes, Florina cultivates them, we can get new ones later" Virginia replied, while she was trying not to show Jet how worried she was. She handed over the Holy Root to Gallows, who crushed it in his big hand above Clive's head. Juice from the root was slipping through his fingers and landed on Clive's forehead. The group waited expectantly for any response from the sniper. Jet bend down and listened. Clive's breathing was still strain, and he didn't move from his spot.  
  
"It didn't work, and now we're out of Holy Roots. Great" Jet said sarcastic. He couldn't keep his frustration inside him any longer, he had to let it out or he would explode.  
  
"So what do you suggest we do then, huh!? Just sit here and let him die!? Just so that you know Jet, I won't let him! I won't let him die! I promised Catherine and Kaitlyn that we would look after him, we all did! Think of them for a second, will you!" Virginia yelled, unable to hold in her emotions any longer. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she was to cold to feel them. She put her face in her palms and sobbed out of despair.  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me" Jet said lowly, feeling guilty for making her cry. He felt that he had to make it up to her, and the only way to do that, was to save Clive. He looked at his hand, thinking for a few seconds, before he laid it on Clive's chest and synchronized his spirit. The familiar light came up again, the green light that came up everytime he used his hidden power. The area under under his hand started to shine too.  
  
"Whoa!" Gallwos exclaimed. Virginia looked up. Her eyes grew wider at the sight, and she held out her hands at Jet. It looked like she tried to stop him, but she didn't make any attempt to reach him.  
  
"Jet, what are you doing?" Jet looked at her. He had a resolution in his lavendel eyes that she had not seen often.  
  
"I'm trying to save his life" He replied. They gazed into each other's eyes under complete silence, then Virginia slowly nooded. She clapped her hands together, praying that it would work. Jet turned back to look down at Clive. One small mistake and he could deal permanent damage to Clive's mind or body. When he rewrote Leehalt in Deus Ex Machina, he didn't try to control his power, he just wanted to kill Leehalt in pure rage and let it out of control. But this time, he concentrated the hardest that he could, trying the find the cause of Clive's unconsciousness and rewrite it out of existence.   
  
Clive to late discovered that the demons had closed in on him. Datson, the demon dog, grasped Clive's left shoulder, and pinned him to the spot. Clive dug his elbow into the demon's stomach, and with his entire weight, he pushed Datson backwards in a powerful body blow. Datson hit other demons standing behind him and they fell down into a pile of flying arms and kicking legs. Another one sent at fist straight at his face, Clive ducked just in time and sent him flying with a roundhouse. He reached his hand after his Gungnir, only to discover that it wasn't in place. Looking down on the sheath strapped to his left leg, he saw his knife was gone too. He knew that his magic couldn't take on several demons at the same time, and his only hope was that summon would work in the dream world.  
  
Before he could do any other movements, he was overpowered by the rest of the demons. He was forced to the ground, dust flew inside his mouth and made him cough loudly, and the weight from the demons pressed the air out of him. He twisted and struggled to free himself, but their combined powers exceeded his. Several hands grasped his arms and pulled him back up. The woman came up to him, and laid a hand on Clive's cheek. It felt cold to his warm skin, and he wanted to back away, but the demons held him in place,and somebody was holding a claw behind his neck, threatening him to cut him if he did a unwanted move.  
  
"Ironic, isn't it?" She said lowly,while she dug her nails deep in Clive's skin. "The Omni orb is the only thing left that can help me get my revenge and my desired world. And the only way to get to it, is through you. The man I want dead more than anyone else, and which I can't kill because of that fact. Well, I think explaining time's over. Once you've completed your task, I will end your miserable life, and reveal your true beauty. Make no false hopes" She placed her other hand on his forehead and the pain shoot up inside Clive's head once again. He cried out in pain, and tried to tear himself away from her, only to again discover that the strong hands of the demons held his head in place, and he couldn't move. He felt his mind slipping away, his memories, and the names of his friends along with it. His vision was getting darker, and his body wouldn't listen to him anymore. Her mind was simply stronger than his when it was weakened, and he waited for the moment when his mind would leave him totally, and be hers to control. He closed his eyes to ease the pain, until it would bother him no more.  
  
He waited. Nothing more happened. A sudden screech filled the air, and the pain lifted from Clive, along with the demons hands. His knees and hands met the cold ground beneath, he shook his head and opened his eyelids. The woman held her body in a tight grip and shivered, while she was screaming out in pain. The demons stared at her, not knowing what they should do.  
  
"Aaaaaah!! I-it cannot be!! Is it that Filgaia Sample!?" She roared. Clive was stunned and didn't understand who she meant at first.  
  
"The Filgaia Sample?... Jet?" His memories of his friends slowly came back to him. The woman's body started to shine in the same light Jet always called when he used his powers. Her body began to fall apart, pieces of her disappeared as they left her body.  
  
"I... must... retreat..." She stammered, lifted up her hands and vanished in a dark ball. A light ball similar to the sun appeared on the sky and grew larger. The demons screamed out in fright, and started to ran for the houses, leaving Clive alone in the field. He stood up and watched as the ball grew even larger. The ball suddenly bursted wide open and the light coming out from it made Clive throw one arm over his eyes. It became lighter, until the vision of the twisted Humphrey's Peak was completely engulfed, and vanished. He heard voices inside his head, but these were friendly. One of them belonged to his leader, Virginia. They were begging him to wake up, to return to them. A smile came up on Clive's face, before he woke up.  
  
Confused? Good! Then I have succeded! The identity of the woman and the maeaning of the mark on Clive's hand will beexplained in future chapters. So stay tuned! (Which means, continue to read!) 


	5. Drifter Wings Taking Flight

A/N: I'm doing my best to keep the character's personalities as intact as possible, but it was a while since I played the game, and I may fail many times, particular with this woman. Please bear with me! And again I want to thank all who have written reviews! It really warms my heart to see that you like it! Any suggestions on improvement and idea's of what I could write in this fanfic are still very welcome. I want to become better after all.  
  
To Era Yachi: Darn it! You are too smart for me! I have to try harder the next time! Also, hope I didn't snatch any idea of yours!  
  
Och till min lillasyster: Här kommer nästa kapitel! Varsågod och läs på egen risk...  
  
(That is Swedish, if anyone is wondering. Don't mind it, it doesn't say anything important)  
  
Chapter Four: Drifter Wings Taking Flight  
  
Virginia's heart beat twice as fast when Jet pulled away his hand from Clive's chest, and the light slowly disappeared. He turned at her, his lavendel eyes held her gaze in place.She couldn't read in the young boy's face if he had succeded or not, so she returned to watch Clive's limp body. When he slowly opened his eyelids and his breathing became more stable, she had to hardly constrain herself from jumping on him and cast him back into a coma.  
  
"Clive?" She asked. Clive looked around before he got up in a sitting position. He turned to her, and seemed happy to see her and the others.  
  
"My apologies for making you worry" he replied.  
  
"You did it! You did it, Jet!" Virginia exclaimed, throwing herself on the silverhaired boy and squeezing him hardly. Jet fell backwards, and blushed as he felt Virginia's body close to his.  
  
"L-let go... you're chocking me..." he gasped. Virginia pulled herself away from him, and he rubbed his sore neck. Clive let the blanket on his body fall down to his side. His body was still cold from the attack, but the fire next to him did its job and helped him recover his normal body temperature. The cold air around them laid down to rest and everbody sighed in relief.  
  
"What kind of dreams do you have anyway? You even scared the wits out of the guardians!" Gallows asked.  
  
"I wished it was just a dream, but I'm afraid that is not the case. There is something I need to tell you, before it happens again" Clive replied. The group sat down around him and he started to tell them about the six months of torture he had endured. And about the the artifact called the Omni orb.  
  
Woman's POV  
  
A loudly gasp was heard in the small room in Yggdrasil. A black and purple- haired woman sat in the middle of the room on her knees, and her arms wrapped tightly around her aching chest. The creeping, familiar feeling inside her body grew more intense, indicating a spirit submerging itself with her. It was weakened and hurt, its pain was transferred to her bio systems and she yelled louder, her head bolted and she was near too loose consciousness. The floor twisted beneath her and she bend down to make it stop. When the spirit had adjusted itself to the woman's mind and started to regenerate itself, the pain decreased and eventually disappeared.  
  
"That was close. Too close" she whispered, giving words to the spirit's thoughts. Slowly she rose up and leaned against a metallic, huge device behind her. It had similar features to the device that once contained the Yggdrasil generator, but it was more huge, covering more than half of the room. Cables ran along the floor, giving the machine the look of a dead tree with a hole in the center. It had taken her six months to build it, with the knowledge of demons and the Council of Seven.  
  
"So, that boy was indeed the Filgaia Sample, Adam Kadmon. I thought I had seen him somewhere before. Elliot did a good job giving it his dead son's looks" she said lowly, remembering a silverhaired boy that always held Clive and the others company.  
  
Don't think about that now. Its interference has been a setback for us. He would have been ours to control by now, if it hadn't intervened. We need to separate them. A voice spoke up inside of her. It had the tone of a child, but spoke like any adult would do.  
  
She stared up at the machine, her creation. She laid a hand on the cold metal surface. It was out of function at the moment, but soon it would get all the power it needed to transform Filgaia into a Filgaia she desired. Her own world was in reach, she felt it in her very fingertips.  
  
"They're heading for Baskar Colony. We shall welcome them, with a nice surprise. A surprise they could die for..." She whispered and turned behind her. Two pair of glowing eyes watched her from the dark corner and roared out in excitement. A smile went across her lips.  
  
"Go" She said, the eyes blinked and in a second, they disappeared into the shadows. She turned back forward and a image of Baskar Colony appeared before her. It was in peace at the moment, the people unaware of what was coming. She could hear the roars of her creations moving closer to the village...  
  
Back to the group  
  
Virginia felt a shiver run down her spine as she listened to Clive's story about the nightmare he had just experienced and the woman following him around everywhere for six months. She at first thought why Clive hadn't told them anything, but as he progressed, she came to understand him. Had she heard this sooner, she would have thought that he was just hallucinating from an illness. Gallows and Jet seemed as stunned as she was.The fire had burned out a short while ago, the group however didn't notice it.  
  
"...And that is what happened. Forgive me for not telling you sooner, I misjudged the situation, a mistake on my part" Clive finished and bend down his head.  
  
"Had I heard a story like that when I was little, I would have nightmares for six months too" Gallows implied, putting a hand on Clive's shoulder.  
  
"Is it Beatrice? Or another dream demon?" Jet asked.  
  
"And exactly is that, whatchamacallit... oh yeah, the Omni orb?" Gallows filled in.  
  
"I'm not certain just yet. I need to look further into this to find the answers. With the leader's permission, I would like to head for Humphrey's Peak, to look for clues. I'm certain my professor once during his journey came to hear about the artifact"  
  
Clive turned to Virginia. She sat quietly, her arms crossed over her chest. Then she clapped her fist into her open palm, her face lit up.  
  
"Well, I guess the return of the Teardrop can wait for a while. A dream demon is after this artifact, so it must be very powerful. We must stop her from gaining control of it"  
  
"And how are we supposed to go there? Walk or by horse for free? Both will take days, even weeks" Jet replied, casting Virginia an glance.  
  
Virginia bend down her head, knowing that Jet was right. What if they sneaked onboard a train? No, the risk would be too great that they were discovered and that they had to fight other Drifters again in the panic.  
  
"Okay, then we'll do this: First, we head to the Secret Garden and then Baskar Colony as planned. Then, when we have some money, we'll head to Humphrey's Peak by train and look for clues to stop this demon. Is that okay with you, Clive?" Clive put a hand under his cheek for a few seconds, then he nodded. He was concerned that he would loose control again in the presence of his family. But his longing for them overcame his fear.  
  
"I shall abide by your decision. However, I'm requesting that you take precautions in my presence. I'm not certain how stable I am at the moment" Clive replied.  
  
"No worries. If she tries anything, Jet could kick her behind again"  
  
Gallows said and lifted up his hands in a gesture. Virginia turned back to Clive and detected the small scratch marks he wore on his right cheek.  
  
"What have you done on your cheek?" She asked. Clive lifted a hand and moved it along the scratches. His skin felt soar under the pressure, and he thought he felt her nails dig into his skin once again.  
  
"A scratch I received from her" He replied and pulled his hand down.  
  
The moon was slowly setting in the horizon behind them. Agreeing that they wouldn't catch any more sleep that night, they decided to move on. Gallows killed of the ashes from the campfire with his ice arcana spell, while the others packed theirs and his stuff. They threw up their belongings on their horses and mounted. After that, they set course for Secret Garden. Virginia took the lead, with Jet closely behind her. Gallows pulled up next to Clive, who again was in deep thoughts.  
  
"So, this dream demon.... Was she good looking?" He asked, bringing Clive back to reality. Clive looked at him, thinking how he should reply.  
  
"She had outer beauty, her inside beauty however, was no better than the demons" He said.  
  
Virginia and Jet were slowly moving away from them, and the duo pushed their horses to catch up to them. When the sun slowly came up before them, acknowledging a new day and morning, they reached the gorge that separated the barren wasteland and the lushly woods apart. They pushed their horses and they flew over the gorge. They took the path around the forest, as it was harder to navigate through the trees on horses.  
  
The small cottage came up before them and they entered. Florina sat bend down next to a patch of flowers, holding her small hands around the crown of a flower. She looked up when she heard footsteps behind her. She gave up a sigh of relief as she saw the Maxwell team.  
  
"Good morning, Florina" Virginia greeted, and waved her hand. Jet stayed in the background, holding himself out of sight for the small girl. He still remembered the punch Virginia had given him the first time he was here, and tried his best to avoid a situation like that again. He leaned against a tree and waited for Virginia to finish their errand.  
  
"How are the flowers?" Virginia continued. Florina looked behind her, and then back to Virginia.  
  
"They are fine. They say it's easier for them to grow now, since the planet is recovering. But the monsters are still around. I saw a monster near the cottage the other day, in the woods. It looked like a huge cat. No monster have been this close before" Florina replied. She glanced over nervously to the woods, almost as she expected to see the cat coming at her.  
  
"You want us to do something about it?" Virginia asked, bending to the same level as the girl. She shook her head. She listened to the voices of the flowers which only she heard.  
  
"...No, it's alright. The flowers say this monster is different from the others. It won't attack us" Florina replied. She was little anxious, but if the flowers said it was okay, then it was okay.  
  
"Let's just do what we came here for, and move it!" Jet said impatiently. Florina turned to him and seemed happy to see him.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Jet" she said happily and smiled. Jet turned his head away with a grunt.  
  
"Looks like she still remembers you, Mr. Nice Guy" Gallows teased and buffed Jet's arm with his elbow, only to bite the grass on the ground, and watched stars dance around his head as Jet hit him with a toy hammer.  
  
"Call me Mr. Nice Guy one more time and you'll be really sorry" he threatened. Florina giggled, Clive smiled and Virginia shook her head.  
  
"You have come for the harvest, right? Wait here, I'll get it" Florina hurried over to her small cottage and vanished behind the door. Gallows got up from the ground and patted his sore neck. The sudden pulsation that ran through them completely caught them off guard. Their hearts beat twice as fast, and their breathing sped up, as something was scaring them.  
  
"Not again..." Jet held a hand to his chest, to ease the feeling.  
  
"The guardians are trying to warn us" Gallows said, looking at Clive for a split second. He wasn't the one that emitted the feeling this time.  
  
"It appears that she has chosen to take on a more active role" Clive said and adjusted his glasses  
  
"You think..." She said but didn't finish as she turned back her head and saw Gallows's face turn pale as a white sheet. A sticky stench filled their noses and turned their heads north. A large pillar of gray smoke covered the young sky  
  
"...Has she attacked Baskar Colony!?" Gallows stammered.  
  
"There has been only a few occasions that my instincts have been incorrect" Clive replied. Florina came back out and in her tiny hands, small bags was placed on top of each other. The harvest have been good this month.  
  
"I have already sorted them equally, so you don't have to do it" She said and placed one bag into each Drifter's hand. She noticed the anxiety among the group, and looked up, noticing the pillar in the sky.  
  
"Isn't that where Baskar Colony is located?" She asked. That was enough for Gallows. He put the small bag into his pouch, rushed to his horse and mounted it in a quick swing. He turned the horse around and vanished out of the Garden  
  
"Gallows, wait!" Virginia called. Florina looked sad, like she had said something awful. Virginia turned to her.  
  
"Thank you, Florina. You have been of great help. And don't worry, we'll take care of the situation. We'll be back and tell you how it went"  
  
Virginia shook hand with the little girl and turned to her horse. The others mounted their horses and turned to the exit. Virginia turned back her head one last time to look after Florina. She gasped when she saw two red eyes stare out from the woods. She blinked. They were gone.  
  
"What was that?" She whispered. Stybba, her horse, neighed as the others got too far from them. Virginia pushed her horse and rode after them, thinking that those eyes had been her imagination.  
  
Normally, Gallows was always the last one in the line, but now he pushed his horse as fast as he could, like he had the fires of hell behind him. The mere thought of Shane lying torched on the ground and his lifeless eyes staring out into distance made him freeze into his very soul. Even the others had a hard time catching up to him.  
  
They continued their mad dash until the saw the large pillar of dark gray smoke rise from Baskar Colony.  
  
"Oh, no. Shane!!" Gallows yelled and galloped into the village.  
  
"Gallows, wait!" Virginia called out, as he disappeared behind the rocky entrance. "Let's follow him" She commandeered and they followed the priest.  
  
The sight was shocking. Screams of pain was heard over the small area. People ran around and tried to get the wounded into shelter, while themselves were bleeding from big, open wounds. Blood was spilt over the ground and the house walls and colored the world red. The house next to Gallows's home had been leveled to the ground, the others had large holes and fires licked the dry grass and the woody roofs, spreading quickly. One man lay dangerously close to the fire and moaned as he felt the heat slap him in the face. The Maxwell team's horses neighed from the stench of blood filling their noses and the fire coming at them, almost got up on their hind legs.  
  
"What the..." Jet said, stunned and unable to express himself properly, and fighting with Arod to keep still.  
  
"Let's help them!" Virginia jumped of her horse, Clive and Jet did the same. Mearas, Gallows's horse, came running at them. Jet leaped to the side to avoid being trampled down by the frightened horse. Hasufel, Stybba and Arod followed after the black horse, ran through the entrance and vanished into the wasteland. Gallows was running all over the village, holding his hands around his mouth and yelling the highest he could:  
  
"Granny!! SHANE!!!"  
  
A/N: Brighter and brighter every minute, huh?... Guess not. Well, next up, digging a little deeper into Clive's past! (As it is in this fic, anyway) 


	6. The Right Thing to Do

A/N: Here I am again. I am so, so, so SORRY for being late, but first the computer broke down. Then it was affected by a virus and wouldn't function like it should. And I have also started at university and haven't gotten much time to write. But I'm doing my best to give it time!

Anyway, here is the next chapter.

… Hrm, the next chapter…

…#¤& computer!! Take this and this, you "¤"&# piece of metal! Hah, hah, hah… Hmpf.

Now HERE comes chapter 5!

xxxx

Chapter 5: The Right Thing to Do

Virginia watched as the horses ran out from the burning village, losing her concentration for a second. The man that laid to close to the fires groaned, trying to move away from the fire. Clive woke up from his frozen state first, bending down next to the man and grasping his arm. Jet followed his example and together they dragged the man out of the way from the licking fire. Once in a slighter safer distance, Virginia bent down next to him.

"Are you alright?" She asked. The man turned his gaze at her.

"You're…Gallows' friends?" He asked. Virginia nodded in reply.

"Yes, we're here to help. Please don't worry."

"Great… maybe… we stand… a c-chance… against them…"

"Them? Who did this? Where is Halle and Shane?" But he sighed and passed out before he could answer. Virginia shook her head.

"This is bad..." Jet grunted, looking around and back down at Virginia.

"The safest place at the moment would be at the altar. I believe Shane and Halle might have sought refuge in there." Clive said, while adjusting his glasses.

"All right, we have to help the villagers! Everyone spread out and try to help as many as you can away from the fires! We'll meet in the altar!"

"What about Gallows?" Jet asked. Virginia went silent. The team looked around in the village, but didn't se any signs of him. He had disappeared.

"I'm sure we'll find Halle and Shane somewhere. And whoever sees Gallows, tell him to meet us in the altar. Try to get as many into the altar as possible." Virginia finally said.

Everyone nodded and they spread out. Clive picked up the man laying before him, heaving him over his back and set course for the altar, while looking for his comrades. He noticed a couple a few meters away from them, and waved a hand at their direction. Virginia looked at their direction and set course for them.

Virginia saw the man trying desperately to get the woman back on her feet, but he was too weakened to succeed. The fire was getting out of control; soon it would be too dangerous to be outside.

"You must get into safety in the altar, quick!" The man turned his head. It was Cordell, a young Baskar. His face was black from soot, and red stripes ran down his forehead. He was shaking from exhaustion, and blood loss.

"But Laraine was attacked by those beasts and got injured. She can't walk!" He exclaimed and tried once again to pull her back up on her legs. She moaned, grabbing her bleeding leg.

"I'll help you!" Cordell and Virginia grabbed each of the woman's arms and with their combined powers lifted her up from the ground. They turned around and headed for the altar, where Clive was waiting.

Jet looked around him. He saw Clive, Virginia and two Baskar villagers head for the altar.

(Well, should be everyone.) He thought.

He was about to turn around and follow them when he heard a wheezing sound. A Baskar woman with her black hair standing out on each side of her head in ponytails threw a bucket of water on the fire on the house closest the entrance of the village, extinguishing a little part but not enough to stop it. He ran to her, grabbing her arm when he reached her.

"The hell are you doing!? It's too late! Head for the altar, NOW!" her eyes looked terrified. She was in a state of shock and didn't seem to hear him, her body was shaking, and her face was pale. Jet shook his head. This was no time to be panicking. He pulled her arm again, harder.

"We have to get going, now!" She took one step forward. Jet kept pulling her arm and finally, she snapped out of it. She threw away the bucket and together they ran for the others, who were approaching the altar. The others disappeared into the opening of the altar; Jet turned his head while running. The fire was approaching them, fast. He turned back forward. They were running out of time. Suddenly a pillar of fire rose up before them and they had to stop dead in their tracks. A low, feminine laughter was heard in the air.

"The Filgaia Sample must be disposed of…" She said softly.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" The woman shrieked, as she saw they were being surrounded by the fire. Jet pulled out his Airget Lamh. He felt a burning stench, noticing his scarf was burning on the end. It appeared his fire medium couldn't protect him from the magical fire. He pulled his scarf close to him.

"Who is there!?" Jet growled. He didn't see anybody, only the fire before him. He heard someone call for him, it sounded like Virginia.

"JET!" He tried to charge through the fire, but the heat forced him back. They were trapped.

"Goodbye, Adam Kadmon…" the voice echoed. Jet was sweating, the woman whimpered. But suddenly, he felt a chilly wind swirling around them, the fire before them became frozen solid before it shattered with a gunshot. Gallows appeared in the newly made hole. He didn't admit it, but Jet was glad to see him.

"This way!" Gallows waved and ran for the altar; Jet and the woman ran after the Baskar priest. The fire was closing in on them, fast. Together they ran leaped the opening, leaving the village to burn behind them. Jet thought he heard a yell of anger sound out. Jet smiled. She had failed again.

Gallows, Jet and the woman landed on their stomachs, and coughed as dust filled their noses. The woman rose up, brushed of her dress, and looked down on Jet.

"Thank you so much young, man." And then she turned to Gallows. "And you too, Gallows. You saved my life. It seems I was wrong about you, you have grown up after all" The woman said relieved. Both of the Drifters rose up and brushed of their clothes from dirt. It was completely dark in the altar, only the light from the fire shone through the dark. The two torches that were used to light up the altar had been lit out. Their comrades stood around them, and Virginia was relieved to see them both safe.

"Ellen, have you seen Shane and Granny?" Gallows asked.

"The last I saw of them, was as Halle led Shane in here. I don't know anything else. I'm sorry, Gallows." Ellen went further into the altar and vanished in the dark.

"Are you okay?" Virginia asked.

"Yeah, whatever." Jet replied.

"Hey, I saved your butt back there! A thank you would have been nice, but since it's you, I'll let it slide for now. I just hope Shane and Granny are still in here." Gallows said, looking around for any signs of his brother. Somebody approached them from the dark. They whirled around, seeing Shane holding a torch in his hand. He looked fine, although a bit exhausted.

"Brother?" Gallows's face became brighter, at the same time as Shane's.

"I was worried about you, little brother." Shane rushed to him, embracing him in a big hug, almost knocking Gallows over. Gallows returned the hug.

"Why didn't you answer me when I called out?" He asked. Shane let go him, looking Gallows in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, brother. I didn't hear you. I was helping grandmother with the wounded."

"Is she here?" An elderly woman approached them, leaning on her staff for balance and limping slowly forward.

"Of course I am." She said with a tired voice. She saw Gallows; a frail smile grew across her face. Gallows had not seen her smile that often, mostly she had just scolded him. He couldn't help but think it suited her.

"So, this is what your rush was all about. My incompetent grandson found his way home, anyway. That surprises me." She continued, while walking over to Gallows.

"Well, I'm glad too see you too Granny." Gallows replied. Halle cast a glance over to the rest of the group.

"You're all here, that's good. Come with me, I'll explain everything and I also have something I want to discuss with you. This way."

Halle turned around, going back into the darkness. The rest followed her; Shane went beside the team to provide them some light. The Baskar Colony's villagers leaned against the walls on each side on the hallway. Ellen and Cordell were the only ones still standing. They went to each person, tending to their wounds the best they could. Virginia felt like her heart was going to stop. She swallowed silently, but hard, her eyes almost watered up. Gallows was silent, but she noticed how he became more and more tensed, and his rage was building up. When they reached the end, Halle signed for the group to sit down. They sat down in a circle in front of her. Shane took place next to her, staring down at the floor.

"We were attacked by two reptile-like monsters early in the morning. They attacked the villagers in their houses, when they were sleeping. People that tried to seek shelter in here were attacked and struck down, our houses were destroyed, and they set the village on fire before they left for the mountain path north of the village. We put the fires out in here, so we could hide the wounded from them." Gallows face turned red. He raised a fist in the air, it was shaking from anger.

"They'll pay for this…" He growled. The team saw the fires of hell burning in his eyes, something they had never seen before. Virginia thought she needed to change the subject, before Gallows would do anything rashly.

"…Halle, you said you had something you wanted to discuss with us. What is that?" Virginia asked. Halle turned to her.

"That's right. As I told you, they disappeared on the mountain path north of here. Everyone here is frightened that they will return, and so am I. I don't want to dispatch any of my villagers after them, as everyone is too wounded, and we have no means to fight them. It's much to ask from you, but I would like you too find and eradicate these monsters for us." Jet and Clive turned to Virginia, who sat silent.

"…This is something I can't decide for myself. What do you guys think?" She turned to face her comrades. They looked at each other, silent.

"…As long as the price money is worth the risk, I'm in." Jet answered.

"Of course I'm in! I'll teach them not to mess with my village!" Gallows replied, finally putting his hand down. Clive adjusted his glasses.

"This is indeed a great task we have been presented. We would need more information on these monsters, so we know how to prepare properly and what to expect. The decision however, is up to the leader to make." He said. Virginia nodded.

"Can you tell us more about them? And what would be our reward if we accepted the mission?" Virginia asked Halle. Halle bent down her head, searching her memory for vital information on the monsters.

"All I know is that they are very agile, and their attack pattern showed that they don't think like other monsters. It was close to human thinking." Halle replied.

"What makes you say that?" Clive asked while adjusting his glasses.

"One of them stood guard in front of the altar, as to prevent us from entering, and trapping us between them. I had to use Arcana spell to drive it away. And any damage I dealt one of them, it got instantly healed by the other. A normal monster wouldn't think, and do something like that." Clive nodded. It did indeed sound strange.

"And how much would you pay us... What?" Jet noticed Gallows glare at him. He cast the priest a glance and turned away his head.

"I believe 8 000 Gella would be enough. From what I have heard about the Ark of Destiny Order, you're gonna need it, and it's all I can offer at the moment." Gallows wanted to protest, but Halle silenced him with a stare.

Virginia remained silent, then nodded.

"We accept your mission. But we will only accept the reward money upon our return." Virginia answered. Halle looked pleased.

"Very good. But you do look tired, so feel free to stay here tonight. I doubt they will return so shortly, but I will place out Cordell and Ellen to guard the altar just in case. I could also use my grandson's help to heal the wounded." Halle said.

"Does the village have any supplies left?" Clive asked her.

"We store away food in a side cave east of the village, for emergencies just like this. It will be enough until we get the village back to normal. But we don't have any beds to offer, so I'm afraid you have to sleep on the ground. Can I ask you to go get the supplies once the fires are gone?" Virginia was relieved. Even if they went after the monsters now, they would have been too tired to fight them. The lack of sleep started to show up. The rest of the team seemed tired as well. Especially Clive. Outside, the fires started to die out.

"Okay, then. Thank you." Virginia implied.

xx

The woman walked back and forth in the room of Yggdrasil, agitated. She turned her gaze to the monitor before her, watching the Drifters as they were talking to the Baskars in altar, alive and well.

"The Filgaia Sample is still alive." She muttered.

(Yes, he escaped for now, but that just leaves more fun to our pets and us. They will get rid of the Filgaia Sample and the rest of them for us. Tomorrow will be fun…) the girl voice spoke up inside her head again. The woman smiled, her green eyes tightened together.

"Tomorrow…"

xxxx

I know what I said in the last chapter, but I figured this chapter would be too long if I added Clive's past now. So it will be some other time. Sorry. If you want it, please R&R and tell me!


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